Photo borrowed from Tennis Pro's Facebook page.

The last time I saw Tennis Pro, they were singing Liz Phair songs in dresses...a memorable event, not just because of their attire, or the fact that it was the 6th Anniversary of TIG, but also because these guys CRANK out some seriously bouncy power pop! But uh, where have they been since then, you might ask? Well, I was fortunate enough to run into Mr. David Drury during all the SIFF festivities and that's when I found out they didn't really go anywhere, they've actually got a brand new album, and (no kidding) they're totally BIG in JAPAN.

This news made me incredibly happy, and started me on a kick of listening to Cassie's Junior Varsity Make-Out Squad, and Are You There, God, It's Me Tennis Pro - reminding me how much fun they are live and also that they have a song called "Imaginary Girl" that rocks my little heart out. The new album is called Shimokita is Dead, and Tennis Pro is having a CD release party/show at Chop Suey this coming Thursday {6/30} so everybody can hear what it sounds like. In the meantime, here's a preview to get you ready:

more...

My favorite Canadians, also known as Sloan, made this entirely rad video near an airport for their song "The Good in Everyone" way back in 1996. Even though the song is only about 2 minutes long, the video is a little over 4 minutes, which makes for an interesting jet engine prelude. It's well worth the wait for the seriously catchy beats of this indie-alt-rock-power-pop foursome.

(psst: I've seen them live SEVERAL times, and they are always awesome! If they make it to Seattle again, I highly recommend.)

I am very anxious to see Sloan live - not the least of which because I have no idea when the next opportunity will be.

more...